CreatureData

Tucuxi

Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais & Deville, 1853)

ENEndangeredwhales and dolphins

The tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) is a species in the family Delphinidae, order Cetacea. Recorded adults weigh 46.7 kg to 60 kg and live up to 30.4 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis)
Photo: Archilider · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the tucuxi

Weight
46.7 kg – 60 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
30.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Piscivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
35 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
330 days – 365 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
0.985src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
6 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.4src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Marinesrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the tucuxi live?

Not recorded

What is the tucuxi?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis), alternatively known in Peru bufeo gris or bufeo negro, is a species of freshwater dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon basin. The word tucuxi is derived from the Tupi language word tuchuchi-ana, and has now been adopted as the species' common name. Despite being found in geographic locations similar to those of 'true' river dolphins such as the boto, the tucuxi is not closely related to them genetically. Instead, it is classed in the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae.

Physically, the species resembles the bottlenose dolphins, but differs sufficiently to be placed in a separate genus, Sotalia. The Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), a related dolphin present in coastal and estuarine environments and formerly grouped together with the tucuxi, have recently been recognized as a distinct species.

From the Wikipedia article “Tucuxi” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tucuxi&oldid=1384682542), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the tucuxi endangered?

The tucuxi is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the tucuxi classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCetacea
  5. familyDelphinidae
  6. genusSotalia
  7. SpeciesSotalia fluviatilis (Gervais & Deville, 1853)

Synonyms Delphinus fluviatilis, Delphinus pallidus, Delphinus tuchuschi, Sotalia fluviatilis fluviatilis, Sotalia fluviatilis fluviatilis, Sotalia pallida, Sotalia pallida, Sotalia tucuxi, Sotalia tucuxi, Sotalia tucuxi fluviatilis, Sotalia tucuxi pallidus, Steno brasiliensis, Steno fluviatilis, Steno pallidus, Steno tucaxi, Steno tucuxi, Steno tucuxi

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Amazon river dolphinEnglish
  • Brazilian dolphinEnglish
  • Estuarine dolphinEnglish
  • Gray dolphinEnglish
  • Gray dolphinEnglish
  • Gray river dolphinEnglish
  • Guianian river dolphinEnglish
  • Tookashee dolphinEnglish
  • Tucuxi dolphinEnglish
  • توكوكسيArabic
  • دلفين النهر الرماديArabic
  • delfín brazilskýCzech
  • Tucuxi-delfinDanish
  • AmazonassotaliaGerman
  • Amazonas-SotaliaGerman
  • bufonSpanish
  • bufeo blancoSpanish
  • bufeo grisSpanish
  • bufeo loquilloSpanish
  • bufeo negroSpanish
  • bufeteSpanish
  • bufo negroSpanish
  • cuchuskaSpanish
  • delfin de rioSpanish
  • delfin del AmazonasSpanish
  • Delfín Gris de RioSpanish
  • sopionSpanish
  • amazonindelfiiniFinnish
  • RannikkodelfiiniFinnish
  • sotaliaFrench
  • Dauphin de l'AmazonFrench
  • Dauphin de L'AmazoneFrench
  • Dauphin de l'OrénoqueFrench
  • SotalieFrench
  • Sotalie de l'AmazoneFrench
  • FlóðahöfrungurIcelandic
  • Sotalia dell'AmazzoniaItalian
  • コビトイルカJapanese
  • BrasildeltadelfinNorwegian Bokmål
  • AmazonedolfijnDutch
  • sotalia amazońskaPolish
  • boto cinzaPortuguese
  • boto pretoPortuguese
  • bufo pretoPortuguese
  • Белый дельфинRussian
  • Амазонская соталияRussian
  • Речная соталияRussian
  • topozobi delfinSlovenian
  • GuyanadelfinSwedish
  • Haliç yunusuTurkish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the tucuxi

Other species in the same genus Sotalia.

CompareTucuxi vs Guiana dolphin

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the tucuxi?

An adult tucuxi weighs 46.7 kg – 60 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the tucuxi endangered?

The tucuxi is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the tucuxi live?

The tucuxi has a recorded lifespan of 30.4 years.

How long is the tucuxi pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 330 days – 365 days.

What kind of animal is the tucuxi?

The tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) belongs to the family Delphinidae in the order Cetacea.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tucuxi

MLA

“Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tucuxi.

BibTeX
@misc{tucuxi_2026,
  title = {Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tucuxi},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}